- mulehead
- (7)
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The adventurous may wish to consider driving two hours north of Salt Lake City to Logan, Utah, to ski the aptly-named Powder Mountain, or another 3 hours further north from there to check out the spectacular scenery of Wyoming's Grand Tetons and the wicked and wide-open terrain of Jackson Hole and Grand Targhee resorts.
The legendary Utah "Pow", the fine, deep powder snow of Utah, is definetly superior on the western (Salt Lake City) side of the Wasatch Range than on the eastern flank. Thus, hard-core ski bums and powder hounds will be better served by avoiding the hoardes of tourist families infesting the Canyons/Park City/Deer Valley resort megalopolis, and instead stick with the local ski bums and the deep Pow found at Alta, Snowbird, Brighton, and Solitude.
Don't forget that Alta is a skier's-only mountain, while Brighton sports a totally sick terrain park for the youthful boarders in your life. Consider purchasing a day ski-demo package instead of a straight equipment rental, as with the former you can try any number of different all-mountain fatty skis, which offer a much better ride in the deep powder than the narrower glacier carving skis familiar to European skiers.
Remember to pack a few of bottles of duty free spirits with you, as the pickings in Utah, with it's teetotal Morman population, can be rather slim.
Four-wheel drive vehicles with optional ski racks can be rented by the day or week from RuggedRental.com (approximately $550 per week for a Jeep Grand Cherokee). They will pick your party up at the airport, and within two hours you can be skiing in the finest powder conditions to be found anywhere in the world.
Stay at the no-frills Motel 6 in the Salt Lake City suburb of Murray just off Interstate 15 south of the airport for under $40 per night, with an easy, 30-minute drive up Little Cottonwood Canyon to Alta/Snowbird, or a 45-minute drive up Big Cottonwood Canyon to Brighton and Solitude.
Utah is a ski bum's Paradise, and Salt Lake City International Airport is the Pearly Gates. Nowhere in the world is the skiing better for a comparable low price. World-class areas such as Alta (lift tickets still less than $45), Snowbird, Brighton, Solitude, and the entire Canyons-Park City-Deer Valley resort complex can be reached from the Salt Lake City International Airport in less than two-hours driving time, with Alta/Snowbird a mere 45 minutes away.
Send your feedback or queries to been.there@guardian.co.uk
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first submitted a tip on 13 December 2006
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